Movable structure

ABSTRACT

A sealable container is used as a replacement exchange building to house communications equipment. The equipment is housed in a more space efficient manner when compared with conventional exchanges and the amount of internal cabling required is significantly reduced. The entrance to the container can be sealed so that the network operator only has access to the cables leading to the transmission equipment.

[0001] The invention relates to structures that can be used to housecommunications equipment, and in particular movable structures that canbe used to house communications exchange equipment.

[0002] Incumbent telecommunication network operators have faced manychanges to their networks: the transition from mechanical to electronicswitches and then the introduction of digital switches; the replacementof copper and coaxial cables with optical fibre and the introduction ofmicrowave and radio communication systems. These changes have all had animpact upon the use of space within exchange buildings. For example,digital electronic switches occupy significantly less floor space thanthe equivalent capacity of mechanical switches would do. This change hasallowed network operators to either consolidate their network byaggregating exchange equipment into a smaller number of buildings or todispose of space recovered in this manner to third parties. The resultof these changes is that space in some exchange buildings is now at apremium and the need to add in new equipment, for example DSL (digitalsubscriber line) racks, aerials and equipment for cellular radionetworks (the need for which will increase with the deployment of GPRSand third generation mobile systems) and terminal equipment and cablingto support the use of optical fibre in the access network. Thissituation is exacerbated where local line unbundling is in operation andspace must be set aside for the use of other network operators.

[0003] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided aportable structure for a communications network, the structure beingsealable and comprising transmission equipment for transmitting andreceiving signals and one or more transmission media for connecting saidtransmission equipment to a communications network, the transmissionequipment being connected to a first end of one or more of thetransmission media characterised in that, in use, the container issealed and the network operator only has access to a second end of oneor more of the transmission media, the second end of one or more of thetransmission media being located outside the sealable structure.

[0004] The structure may have one or more entrance and the interior ofthe structure may be partitioned such that each entrance has a dedicatedarea of the interior.

[0005] In one alternative the transmission media are copper cables andthe transmission equipment is digital subscriber line equipment. In afurther alternative at least one of the transmission media is connectedto an antenna and the transmissin equipment is cellular radiotransmission equipment.

[0006] Preferably the structure additionally comprises one or morehousings to protect the location(s) at which one or more of thetransmission media exit the interior of the structure.

[0007] The invention will now be described, by way of example only, withreference to the following figures in which

[0008]FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of the exterior of a structureaccording to the present invention; and

[0009]FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of the interior of a structureaccording to the present invention.

[0010]FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of the exterior of a structureaccording to the present invention. Structure 10 comprises a pluralityof access ports 20 which are located around the perimeter of thestructure; access to the interior is possible through doorway 30. Insidethe structure (see FIG. 2) are a plurality of racks 40 which containtransmission equipment 50. The transmission equipment 50 is connected toexternally located transmission cables 60 via interior pigtails 70 andexterior spur cables 75. Each of the exterior spur cables are connectedto one of the interior pigtails at one of the access ports, with theexterior spur cables being connected to the transmission cables in aconventional manner. Alternatively, each interior pigtail may have adirect connection to one of the transmission cables with the connectionbeing made at one of the access ports. Additionally, a radio antenna 80,for example for a point-to-point communications link or for a cellularradio communications network, may be located on top of the structurewith a connection to respective transmission equipment via an interiorpigtail.

[0011] One of the problems that has been observed when attempting toinstall new equipment into exchange buildings is that the installationmust take place around existing equipment, which leads to significantcompromises being made regarding the location of equipment racks and theinternal cabling required to connect the equipment. These compromisescan lead to increased installation times and cost.

[0012] The transmission equipment 50 is arranged such that each rack 40contains the same type of transmission equipment, for example DSLlinecards. The various input and output communication links, whetherthey are fibre or copper, can then be aggregated to form an interiorpigtail which is routed through an adjacent access port for connectionto an external cable. The aggregation of the links, for example to forma fibre ribbon, allows the interior pigtail to be connected to anexternal cable with the minimum of intervention. The routing of thepigtail from the rear of the transmission equipment to an access portalwithout leaving the rack effectively eliminates the need for cablemanagement inside the structure, leading to a more cost effective andreliable solution.

[0013] The interior pigtails are connected to an external cable at anaccess port (either directly to a transmission cable 60 or to anexternal spur cable 75 [which is in turn connected to a transmissioncable 60]). Depending upon the number and type of transmission cardsheld in the associated rack, there may be more than one interior pigtailfor connection to an external cable. In this case the size of theinterior pigtails (i.e. the number of fibres in a fibre ribbon) shouldbe matched to the size of the cable elements that the pigtails will beconnected to. To try to reduce the possibility of confusion, each accessportal may have separate and clearly defined portions for input cablesand output cables (or this may also be achieved by having separateaccess portals for input cables and output cables.

[0014] Each access portal comprises clamps or grips to secure both theexternal cable and the interior pigtails and storage for the splice(s)or connection(s) between the various cables. Preferably separate storageis provided for the splice(s) or connection(s) for the input cables andfor the output cables. The access portal is preferably provided with asealable, locking lid that protects the clamps and the storage from theeffects of the environment and offers some protection from maliciousdamage. The external cables may be simply attached to the exterior ofthe structure or routed through ducting. It should be possible for theaperture through which the pigtails leave the structure to be securelyblocked, for example through being filled with a substance such as epoxyresin (although it is preferred if the substance could be removed toenable removal or replacement of the interior pigtails). The accessportals are provided at a height on the outside of the structure thatallows for comfortable working from the exterior from either a sittingor a standing position.

[0015] It is preferred that the doorway leading into the structure canbe sealed and it is further preferred that the access to the interior ofthe structure is controlled by the manufacturer of the transmissionequipment or the supplier that integrated the transmission equipment,the racks and the structure. This means that the network operator doesnot have access to the transmission equipment, so that any liability forequipment failure and operations and maintenance interventions remainswith the supplier of the structure. There is an additional advantagethat the use of the interior space of the structure can be usedoptimally and the minimal amount of internal cabling greatly increasesthe spatial efficiency with which the transmission equipment can beprovided when compared with conventional exchange solutions. As afurther alternative the structure can be provided with more than doorwayand the interior space of the structure can be securely partitioned sothat the structure can be shared between more than one network operator.This may be of value when sharing antenna sites for third generationcellular radio networks.

[0016] The network operator specifies the type and quantity oftransmission equipment required in the structure and provides thenetwork infrastructure to connect the transmission equipment to thedifferent sectors of the network operator's network(s) and any othernecessary infrastructure (e.g. electrical power, air conditioning,etc.). It is believed by the inventors that the structure can be locatedon a simple concrete plinth. Alternatively, if it is necessary for anumber of structures to be co-located then the structures may be stackedon top of each other or stored within some form of racking system. Apreferred option for the structure is the containers which are used inthe shipping and transportation industry as they come in a number ofstandard sizes, are physically robust to reduce the risks of physicaldamage to the transmission equipment from outside forces and are easilytransportable to installation locations.

[0017] It would be clear to a person skilled in the art that manyvariants of the structure are possible, for example, structures havingdish antennae and transmission equipment for satellite uplinks and/ordownlinks, optical fibre transmission equipment for a fibre overlynetwork (either for an ultra-fast transmission rate core network or forfibre to the home (FTTH)), linecards and infrastructure to support VDSL(Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line) or other flavours of DSL, etc.

1. A portable structure for a communications network, the structurebeing sealable and comprising transmission equipment for transmittingand receiving signals and one or more transmission media for connectingsaid transmission equipment to a communications network, thetransmission equipment being connected to a first end of one or more ofthe transmission media characterised in that, in use, the container issealed and the network operator only has access to a second end of oneor more of the transmission media, the second end of one or more of thetransmission media being located outside the sealable structure.
 2. Aportable structure according to claim 1, wherein the structure has oneor more entrance and the interior of the structure is partitioned suchthat each entrance has a dedicated area of the interior.
 3. A portablestructure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission media arecopper cables and the transmission equipment is digital subscriber lineequipment.
 4. A portable structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein atleast one of the transmission media is connected to an antenna and thetransmissin equipment is cellular radio transmission equipment.
 5. Aportable structure according to any preceding claim, wherein thestructure additionally comprises one or more housings to protect thelocation(s) at which one or more of the transmission media exit theinterior of the structure.